Korean Power Pack for the K2 Tank

According to the Korea Times, on Monday 28 October, the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Defence announced that it had agreed to use a domestic Korean transmission for the next fourth serial batch of the K2 Black Panther tank procurement programme. This is one of the outcomes of a meeting of the defence projects committee chaired by the Republic of Korea Defence Minister. With the committee’s approval of a Korean indigenous gearbox, the Korean army will be able to benefit from a fully domestic power-pack propulsion system along with local industry support for the next batch of K2 Black Panther tanks.

The K2 Black Panther tanks have been in service in South Korea since 2014, delivered in three purchases until 2023.The first batch (100 vehicles), which started in 2014, used a so-called »Euro power-pack« for the K2 Black Panther, composed of components from European partners. The Euro power-pack consisted of an MTU MT 883 engine and a RENK HSWL 295 5-speed gearbox.The second (106 vehicles) and third (54 vehicles) batches for the K2 Black Panther, on the other hand, used a so-called hybrid powertrain. It is a combination of a Hyundai-Infracore DV27 engine and a RENK HSWL 295 gearbox. Korea will use its own power-pack system in the next series batch of the K2 Black Panther, based on committee approval. The Korean power-pack consists of a DV27 Hyundai-Infracore engine and a 6-speed EST-15K gearbox from SNT Dynamics.

However, the first country to decide to use the Korean power-pack is not the Republic of Korea, but Turkey. Ankara has its own Main Battle Tank (MBT) programme codenamed Altay. The Altay was developed in Turkey with a large share of technology transfer from the Republic of Korea and, during the development phase, was equipped with a European power-pack, the same as the first batch of K2. As reported in the media, Turkey tested the Korean power-pack in 2022 and it was ordered for the serialised Altay tanks in 2023. To add, compared to the current configuration, the K2 is a much heavier vehicle and also has seven pairs of running wheels instead of six.

The Korean government’s agreement to use its own transmission is also significant in the context of the Polish Army and plans for cooperation with industry. The Korean side has previously declared the possibility of technology transfer and the establishment of exploitation support for the Korean power-pack in the event that it is selected for the K2PL programme, for which negotiations are currently underway. During MSPO 2024 and MSPO 2023, the companies: Hyundai-Infracore producing engines and SNT Dynamics supplying gearboxes jointly presented the Korean power-pack. Once approved by the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Korea and put into service, there is therefore the possibility of this solution for the Polish Armed Forces with the involvement of Polish industry.